Grantham schools presented with minibus by Lord’s Taverners

At the presentation of the minibus to Grantham Additional Needs Fellowship are, from left, Jenny Noble, of Lincolnshire Ladies Taverners,'Paul Stevens, Sandon School principal, Yvonne Wood, of Lincolnshire Ladies Taverners, and Jacki Batram, of GANF with pupils.

Graham Newton

The iconic green minibus was presented to Grantham Additional Needs Fellowship (GANF) to allow pupils to engage in sporting and recreational activities and help them develop life skills such as visiting shops and interacting with people in the community. Most importantly, the minibuses provide transport to and from school.

GANF consists of two Grantham special needs schools, Sandon School and Ambergate Sports College. They cater for children with complex needs, between the ages of 3 to 19.

The C.I.T. Trust Board, which is responsible for GANF Schools, match funded Lord’s Taverners to fast-track the mini bus through.

Sandon pupil Aaron Watts said, “I like all the seats in the new bus. It means we can fit more of us in to go out together. I love the green colour too!”

Yvonne Wood, from Lady Taverners, said: “It has been an honour to visit GANF today and present the mini bus. Perhaps more importantly to meet some of the students and their very supportive staff. The atmosphere at Sandon is a very happy one, today has been a real pleasure.”

Paul Stevens, Principal of Sandon School, added: “We have a fleet of six minibuses across the Fellowship and they are all in need of replenishing. It is a constant struggle to allocate school funds to best meet the needs of our pupils, so to have financial support from Lord’s Taverners for a new bus has been a tremendous help. The new minibus will enable our young people to access the community and so increase their independence, confidence and self-esteem.”

Since 1976 the Lord’s Taverners have put more than 1,050 accessible minibuses on the road across the UK.